Olympia, Wash. – A 21-10 scoring advantage in the third quarter propelled the visiting Northwest Christian University women's basketball team to a 69-57 win over The Evergreen State College on Saturday night in CRC Gymnasium. The Beacons have now won six straight Cascade Collegiate Conference games.
 
The Beacons (10-6, 6-2 CCC) broke away from a 35-35 halftime deadlock. There had been seven ties and ten lead changes through the opening half, but once NCU hit their first three shots of the second half, they were able to pull away for the win.
 
It was another case of dominating defense as NCU held the Geoducks to just 3-for-15 shooting from three-point range and a 33% clip overall. The Beacons, meanwhile, shot 53% from the field, their highest shooting percentage of the season.
 
The Beacons responded well to some early adversity as senior Sami Pitts rolled an ankle with four minutes remaining in the opening warmup session and was unable to make her scheduled start. Jeni Hoffert filled in admirably, hitting a pair of early three-pointers as NCU fought to maintain control. The team ended up shooting 14-for-24 over the first two quarters.
 
Head Coach Heath Alexander said, "Tonight started out a bit funny but our kids focused in and really worked hard for the win."
 
The Beacons were led by Niki Duncan, scoring 21 points for the second consecutive night as she hit 5-for-9 from three-point range. Andrea Gloss (pictured) added 13 points and Hanna Mack scored 12 to go along with a team-high eight rebounds and two blocks. Monique Thompson scored ten points with six rebounds and four assists and Pitts came in off the bench to collect four points and seven assists in 30 minutes of reserve work.
 
"Sami came off the bench bad ankle and all and played a great game," said Alexander. "She scraped her way to get some loose balls when we needed them most."
 
NCU, now sitting in a three-way tie for third-place in the Cascade Conference, will close out the first half of the regular season next weekend at home, beginning with a Friday night clash against No. 24 Warner Pacific, one of the teams locked into third place. Saturday will see Multnomah University paying their first visit to the Morse Event Center as a member of the CCC. Both games are set for a 5:30 pm tip-off.